Pyongyang: In a significant display of burgeoning friendship between North Korea and Russia, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was seen publicly driving a car gifted to him by Russian President Vladimir Putin. This gesture, reported by state media on Saturday, underscores the deepening rapport between the two nations.
Following Kim’s meeting with Putin in Russia last September, where both leaders pledged to bolster military cooperation, Pyongyang and Moscow have been cultivating stronger diplomatic ties. Despite Western allegations suggesting North Korea’s involvement in supplying weaponry to Russia for its incursion into Ukraine, both nations have firmly denied such claims.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, emphasized the significance of Kim’s ride in the Russian Aurus limousine on Friday, stating, “It serves as clear proof of the DPRK-Russia friendship, which is reaching new heights on multiple fronts.” These sentiments were echoed in reports by KCNA, North Korea’s official news agency.
During his oversight of air warfare drills on Friday, Kim Jong Un stressed the necessity for “realistic” preparation for potential combat situations, as per KCNA. He emphasized the importance of training that directly simulates warfare scenarios to equip soldiers as proficient combatants.
These drills come in the wake of the conclusion of joint annual exercises involving South Korea and the United States earlier in the week, which marked the first such drills since North Korea annulled a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement aimed at easing tensions.
Additionally, Kim Jong Un made an appearance at the inauguration of a greenhouse farm on Friday, as reported by KCNA. Notably, images released by state media depicted Kim’s daughter, Ju Ae, attending both the drills and the opening ceremony, hinting at a familial aspect of the leader’s public engagements.
